mechanistic and organismic organizations

mechanistic and organismic organizations

terms used by the British writers Tom Burns and G M Stalker to contrast two very different types of ORGANIZATION. Mechanistic organizations are characterized by high and rigid job specialization and centralized decision-making with vertical channels of communication. Organismic organizations, by contrast, display loose job definitions, greater horizontal communication and some devolution of decision-making to lower levels of the HIERARCHY. The nature of the environment is a critical determinant: stable conditions tend to encourage mechanistic organizations whilst fast-changing product markets tend to encourage the organismic form. See BUREAUCRACY, CONTINGENCY THEORY, CULTURE.